Abstract
Students in secondary and tertiary education settings face a wide range of ongoing stressors related to academic demands. Previous research indicates that academic-related stress can reduce academic achievement, decrease motivation and increase the risk of school dropout. The longer-term impacts, which include reduced likelihood of sustainable employment, cost Governments billions of dollars each year. This narrative review presents the most recent research concerning the impact of academic-related stress, including discussion of the impact on students’ learning capacity and academic performance, mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, sleep disturbances and substance use.
A recent literature review highlights how stress and burnout can also aect academic achievement by increasing the risk for school dropout (Walburg, 2014). This was particularly true for students who experience more stressful life events of a more severe nature, as well as students who do not seek support from their parents or other family members as well as students from ethnically diverse groups (Hess & Copeland, 2001).
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School dropout is associated with a lifelong reduction in earning capacity and secure employment (Lamb & Huo, 2017). Individuals with lower education levels report having poorer mental health and more illness than those with higher levels of education (Turrell, Stanley, de Looper, & Oldenburg, 2006). Early dropout from school has also been reported to contribute to intergenerational issues including unemployment, poverty and less academic achievement (Black, 2007; Lamb & Huo, 2017; Muir, Family, Maguire, Slack-Smith, & Murray, 2003). Academic achievement and completion of secondary school leads to greater employability, less reliance on social welfare support and a higher likelihood of participation in further education (Noble, Wyatt, McGrath, Roey, & Rowling, 2008). These outcomes in turn increase the likelihood of sustainable employment, adequate income and self-suciency (Noble et al., 2008), which can save Governments hundreds of millions of dollars every year (Lamb & Huo, 201
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7).
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Discussion The current narrative review highlights that students commonly report high levels of academicrelated stress, cross-culturally. The academic-related stress experienced by secondary and tertiary students impacts their mental and physical health and leads to a range of academic problems. Good stress-management skills have the potential to benet young people in an ongoing manner throughout their lives, given that many long-term health-related behaviours and patterns, both positive and negative, are established during adolescence and early adulthood (Sawyer et al., 2012). Therefore, providing opportunities to improve young peoples academic stress-related coping abilities during this highly stressful, crucial period of development is an important target (OECD, 2015).
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